The present invention relates in general to construction techniques, methods and devices involving stone, brick, expanded polystyrene, limestone, marble, and porcelain and combinations of these materials. More specifically, the present invention relates to placing marking indicia on construction materials (i.e., inscribing), such as stone, brick, limestone, marble, and porcelain for the purpose of creating address stones for houses and for brick "mailboxes".
During the last fifteen to twenty years, there has been a greater interest in producing bricks with names inscribed in them. Such bricks have been used to recognize contributors to civic projects and as a fund raiser. Frequently these inscribed bricks are used in walkways as a way to recognize and memorialize the individual. Occasionally the inscribed bricks are used in a wall, though even here the objective is still the same. During this same time period, limestone address stones were being used and installed directly into the brick wall of the corresponding structure, typically residential. While these decorative construction techniques continued with widespread popularity, there were a variety of technical issues and concerns. While these name bricks are not closely related to address stones, they do represent a current technique of inscribing a construction component.
With respect to the inscribed bricks, the traditional method employed was to stamp the characters directly into the formed, but unburned, brick. A colorant was then added to the indentations, but this proved to be a painstaking operation. The final step of firing the brick resulted in a rejection rate which was relatively high due primarily to the vagaries of the firing process. If mistakes were made in this overall process, either clerical or production-wise, it would delay the completion of the job, assuming that all the named (i.e., inscribed) bricks had to be laid together. An improvement to this method involved sand blasting the characters directly into an already fired brick and thereafter spray staining the characters through the use of a stencil mask.
Since the character height on an inscribed brick is relatively small, inscribed bricks have not normally been used as address stones. Another reason for not using inscribed bricks in this application is the lack of any noticeable visual contrast in color and texture with the remainder of the bricks used in the wall of the structure. Further, the contrast between the brick and the inscription is not dramatic and thus difficult to see from a distance. Further, inscribed bricks within a brick wall does not provide any noticeable or desirable aesthetic combination.
In lieu of metal numbers for the purpose of providing an address for a structure, limestone has been used. The limestone block is sized to fit within a brick wall and in order to fit within the mortar joints, the limestone block is sized in height as a multiple of the standard residential brick height with a corresponding and suitable length depending on the characters to be inscribed and the size and spacing of the residential bricks.
Despite the fame and extensive usage of limestone as a building material, it has several undesirable characteristics. One undesirable characteristic is the inability to control the consistency of the material. The texture of limestone varies from lot to lot such that the surface of each stone section must be belt sanded in order to minimize surface flaws and differences. There are also occasionally harmless but visually offensive fault lines which customers will not normally accept as part of any address stone which is to be mounted into a residential brick wall.
Limestone is a relative soft, absorbent material and the careless cleaning of the stone and surrounding brick after installation into the brick wall can and does cause a yellowish stain which is difficult to remove. It is believed that this stain is an acid burn caused by the cleansing chemical. The worst characteristic of limestone appears primarily when these stones are installed in the increasingly popular brick "mailboxes". Since these mailboxes are otherwise unprotected from the elements, they can become water soaked and, as a result impurities, both from the mortar and from the limestone, enter into solution which migrates to the surface of the limestone, leaving an unacceptable brown appearance. While there are techniques available to coat the limestone with a type of water repellent, this treatment is relatively expensive and is not totally effective. In using limestone for address stones of this type, a customer will typically order two identical address stones, one for the mailbox and the other for the residence. If, in order to reduce cost, only one stone is actually treated with the water repellent, it is important that that particular stone be selected for the mailbox and the untreated stone used for the residence. Unfortunately, it is difficult to visually tell which is which and installers may reverse the two, precipitating the afore-mentioned problems.
In a search for better and lower cost alternatives, it has been discovered that marble, in some respects, provides an improvement to the use of limestone. However, marble has other drawbacks which are believed to be significant. For example, marble does not blend well with brick from an aesthetic perspective and marble is quite expensive. Since marble is not made in what one would regard as the correct block sizes, there would be additional time, expense, and waste in having to cut the block sizes into suitable tiles. Granite is another option, though it is very expensive and the "tile" form typically comes in larger sections measuring 12 inches by 12 inches and 18 inches by 18 inches. Cutting these down to the required tile size for a suitable address stone results in a significant amount of waste. A further concern with regard to the use of granite is that while it may be aesthetically excellent on a monument structure, it is relatively unattractive when used as an address stone.
These various problems and material deficiencies or drawbacks have given rise to the conception of the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, an unglazed porcelain floor tile is used in combination with a suitable backing block of synthetic foam material in order to create an aesthetically excellent and structurally superior address stone or tile. While a block of synthetic foam material represents the preferred choice of backing material, alternative materials include concrete or lightweight concrete. Further, a reasonable alternative is to place the tile in a self-gasketing mold, apply to the back a bonding agent such as ACRYL 60, and pour perlite aggregate concrete into the mold. The combination of the porcelain tile and the synthetic backing block which are adhesively bonded together provide a decorative construction module which is suitable for inscribing and which is sized compatibly to fit within a residential brick wall and it is this decorative construction module which is the primary focus of this one embodiment of the present invention.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the porcelain tile is attached directly to the exterior surface of the brick wall. In order to effect this result in a secure and efficient manner, a two-stage bonding method is used. First, a double-sided adhesive material (peel and stick) is applied to the rear surface of the tile and ultimately to the outer surface of the brick wall. A stronger structural adhesive is also applied between the tile and brick surface. The peel and stick material securely holds the tile to the bricks while the structural adhesive sets up and cures.
The invention embodiment of directly bonding the porcelain tile to the brick wall provides a simple, low-cost method of providing an attractive address tile. This embodiment facilitates the after market where provisions for an address tile are not made when the brick wall is initially fabricated. After the fact, the incorporation of a tile module into a brick wall requires the cutting or chipping away of mortar and the removal of one or more bricks or portions of bricks. There is a certain cost and a certain skill level required in order to perform this particular method, even though it does provide certain aesthetic advantages. When a decorative tile of the type disclosed herein is bonded directly to the brick surface with a suitable structural adhesive, the thickness of the tile shows as a raised panel as contrasted to a flush, inset mounting.
One of the concerns with simply applying a layer of adhesive and trying to stick a porcelain tile to an existing brick or stone wall is the need to apply a steady holding pressure for several minutes. Another concern is the need to prevent any movement, even slight movement of the tile. The peel and stick adhesive material which consists of a flexible foam body with adhesive layers on opposite sides addresses these concerns. If the holding pressure is not steady or if the tile moves, this will disrupt the curing process of the structural adhesive, preventing the desired bond from being achieved or conceivably preventing any bonding.
The tile-backing material module concept of the present invention opens up another market for address and decorative tiles of the type disclosed herein. Many homes employ man-made stone as a cladding material. Unlike bricks, which are laid atop one another in a bed of mortar, these man-made stones which average about 11/2 inches in thickness, are installed by pressing the backs of the stones into a mortar bed which is spread upon the house or structure walls. Limestone which is very compatible aethestically with brick does not blend well with these man-made stones. There are though several colors of porcelain tiles, according to the present invention, which blend beautifully with the various color ranges of these man-made stones. Accordingly, it is envisioned that a thinner tile and backing material module can be created according to the teachings of the present invention and would work ideally for inclusion in a man-made "stone" facade.
Depending on what is inscribed in the construction module of the present invention, it may be both decorative and informative. In this regard, it is to be noted that one of the reasons for the widespread usage of address stones is their high visibility. Emergency personnel are able to see the address more easily, thereby aiding in the speed of reaching the victim. In this regard, the informative aspect of the construction module of the present invention is critical.